The Ottawa SweatSox

The Official Sox of the NCBL; EST 1981

Welcome to the home of the Ottawa SweatSox, a Tier V team playing in Tier II of the National Capital Baseball League

July 14, 2011: 2011 SweatSox Schedule Updated
July 04, 2011: Pictures Page Updated

After Winchester held serve in Winchester a couple nights ago, the Sox & Sox took the field last night at the Stadium in a game three sudden death matchup to determine who would advance to face the Outlaws. Thankfully, Mr. Winchester pitched as only Mr. Winchester can, leading the SweatSox to a 6-1 win.

The last time the SweatSox & Outlaws faced off in the playoffs was in 2009, when the Outlaws swept the series in two games. Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday night at the Sportsplex.

1) a tremendously consistent year all around from Cory Bond
2) seven regular season wins from Josh Ramage
3) a great first 16 games from Kent Johnston (who was in Code: Blanka mode last night)
4) a .667 batting average from Pierre "Perrier" Viau

The answer: none were good enough to compete with the offensive talent, defensive skill, and blazing speed of Denver "the Shostappa" Hunt this season.

During the Après Baseball Hyjinx last night, it was announced that Denver Hunt was the winner of the Doug Dorion Memorial Trophy for being the SweatSox 2011 Most Valuable Player. This is the first Dorion of Hunt's career, and he will now represent the SweatSox in the tier-wide voting for MVP (and perhaps more). Congrats buddy. Well earned.

Funny how we scramble to get 9 guys to show up to a regular season game, but for our first playoff game tonight 14 guys appear.

Top Row (L to R): Rafael Castillo, Travis Murdock, Josh Ramage, Kent Johnston, Me (Shaun Keay), David Nelson, Marc Lett, Cory Bond, and Denver Hunt.

Bottom Row (L to R): Sylvain Viau, Ross Hughes, Craig Cornell, Mark Bond, and Armando Navarro.

We apologize for the poor quality of this photo, but this was the best one out of the fourteen we took. Thanks for nothing "fans".

For the third straight season, our Authority Cory Bond has been selected to manage one of the four NCBL fall ball teams this year. According to a mid-day Tweet earlier today, it looks like he's finally chosen the name of his squad: The Aflac Wolfpack.

After seeing the final score from the Athletics-Winchester game earlier tonight and then doing a bit of math, I've concluded that the SweatSox (4th) and Winchester Sox (5th) will be facing each other in round one of the Tier II playoffs.

The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was 2006, where Winchester (5th) beat the SweatSox (4th) in 3 games.

The SweatSox lost their final game of the 2011 regular season 4-3 to the Gryphons last night. I've had a really long year (leading the team in walks AND strikeouts takes a lot out of you), so I'm taking this writeup off. Instead, have a look at our Twitter feed from yesterday. From that, you should be able to deduce who started for both teams (and some interesting history between the two), the score after the third inning, which Cupcake maker tweeted at us during the game, which Tier 4 team left a scoresheet in the dugout, and which MVP candidate was seen signing autographs before the game.

The only thing I remember about the game “last night”, was forcing MVP candidate Cory Bond to wear the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award at Boston Pizza. He wanted to give it to Ramage for his complete game win, but we reminded Cory that without his efforts on offence, Josh never would have gotten the W. We agreed on a split.

That’s all I got. Next up is a ~~playoff~~ regular season matchup with ~~Winchester tomorrow~~ the Gryphons tonight at the ~~Stadium~~ Sportsplex.

No matter what the NCBL or Winchester Sox try to tell you, it's now official: the SweatSox have clinched a spot in the 2011 Tier II Playoffs. At this point, we can finish anywhere from 2nd to 6th - but early projections have us facing the aforementioned Winchester Sox in the first round. With two games remaining on our schedule, anything can happen.

See you Sunday at the Stadium versus: the Winchester Sox. Who gets the start? Mr. Winchester of course.

Ok let’s see, I think this was the game that went extra innings over at Trillium. If I remember correctly, with two outs in the bottom of the 9th and the SweatSox up 1, the lights went off. While Armando Navarro may not have been quick enough to reach a shallow fly ball in left, there was no excuse for Sylvain Viau bobbling a routine grounder to short; both with two outs. That was an unforgivable non-error.

The winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP award was Ross “The Merchandise” Hughes. Ross pitched 5 innings of 5-hit 4-walk ball, giving up 4 earned runs with 3 strikeouts. He got better as the game progressed, keeping the Sox in the game before turning it over to relief specialist Cory Bond, who would have picked up the win if not for the aforementioned unforgivable non-error from Viau.

Unforgivable is a word we use far too often. As it turns out, unforgivable quickly switches to forgivable when the person needing the forgiving serves those able to provide forgiveness with some filet mignon, potatoes, and beer. Shoutout to #12 who brought the pre meal snacks, a box of Tim Horton donuts.

Next up for the SweatSox is a matchup with the Winchester Sox Sunday night at the Stadium. Josh Ramage gets the start, and with a win might give a whole new meaning to the name Mr. Winchester.

The SweatSox practice squad headed over to Winchester last night, not to face the Winchester Sox, but to surrender to them, the question was how long would it take. A franchise record 23 players were invited to the game, and only 9 were able to come. Early shoutout to Josh Ramage who was forced to play a position other than pitcher & had to bat, and to Kelly Adkin and Pierre “Perrier” Viau who made the trip so we wouldn’t forfeit.

ARMY GETS A BAD JUMP FROM ORLEANS, MISSES THE START OF GAME

Sylvain Viau started, Denver Hunt pitched relief, and Marc Lett closed the game. SweatSox lose 15-5.

GLE HAS NOW PLAYED 8 POSITIONS IN 2011

Honourable mentions to OML who pitched 1.67 innings, giving up only 1 earned run, and DHunt who had 2 doubles and 2 RBI’s at the plate. The winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award is: Cory Bond. Cory went 1/2 at the plate with a HR that easily would have cleared the Ottawa Stadium fence, had 2 RBI, and on defense our lefty played SS, 3B, 2B, and 1B, committing 0 errors. The GLE HR was his first HR since this happened last year (I know you hate this Cory, but I have to do it):

THE GREAT ICE CREAM ADVENTURE OF 2011

There was nothing to report from part one of the Après Baseball Hyjinx, because there was none. We drove straight to the bar.

ARIZONA HYJINX?

Part two of the Hyjinx took place again at the Royal Oak on Hunt Club, where it was revealed that Marc Lett had been selected to take part in a 35+ tournament in Arizona this fall. He joins fellow SweatSox Mark Dorrington and John Groves on the squad. Well done OML, represent the SweatSox well.

THE MULTI-TASKING DJ

Next up for the SweatSox is the final matchup of the regular season against the Expos, next Wednesday at Trillium!

The SweatSox and Expos faced off for the second of three times this season last night at McCarthy. This would also end up being the fourth and final game we’d play with “replacement” umps. This was also a game that I had to come out of in the 2nd after suffering concussion like symptoms. Fortunately, my personal on-call medical staff was nearby and fixed me up so I wouldn’t miss any games, much to the chagrin of the GLE, who has only me to beat to become the all time games played leader.

PITCHER SWITCH MID AT-BAT

With the score tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the second, the SweatSox exploded for 7 runs, then followed that up with 5 in the 4th and 1 in the 5th en route to a 14-4 mercy victory. John Groves pitched the dirty complete game, giving up 2 earned runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, with 1 strikeout, and earned his 4th victory of the season.

CORY BREAKS HIS SHADY MAXBAT, NELSON BREAKS HIS NECK?

The winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP award is an old man who didn’t even start this 5 inning game: Marc Lett. OML entered the game after I got a boo boo, then went 2/2 with an HBP and an RBI while playing first base. Honourable mentions to Sylvain Viau, Mark Bond, and Ross Hughes, all of which also had 2 hit games.

THAT’S A BLOWN F-8 DOUBLE PUTOUT DOUBLE PLAY

Big shoutout goes to the Director Kent Johnston, who returned to the SweatSox after taking a few games off to stay out of the heat and rest some ailing body parts. While he didn’t play, he did get to see his possible heir apparent in center field Sylvain Viau rack up as many outfield assists in one game as KJ has all season.

WRITING NUMBERS IN THE DIRT

Part one of the Après Baseball Hyjinx took place at the Royal Oak on Hunt Club, where we spent most of the time trying to figure out who was willing & able to play with us later tonight in Winchester. Speaking of Winchester, one of their guys invaded our Hyjinx prompting an immediate increase in rating from Rated R to PG-13 - we couldn’t risk giving away any Hyjinx secrets to the enemy. At about 1:00 in the morning we pretended to leave so buddy would drive off, then we all drove down the street to Boston Pizza to continue the Hyjinx. Props to the GLE Cory Bond who poured back to back perfect team pitchers. Where was Rogers TV for that one?

WHO HAS GUY GUY’S NUMBER?

As mentioned, next up for the SweatSox is a second trip to Winchester to face the Winchester Sox. The brother of Pierre “Perrier” Viau, Sylvain Viau, is scheduled to start.

#WONTHEHYJINX

Yesterday afternoon the red-hot CK C SweatSox took on the Outlaws, who seem to have found a permanent home on top of the Tier II standings. The theme of the day was an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, and as it turned out this was the case in more than one way. Making his career high 7th start of the season was Josh Ramage, who was looking for his 6th win, the team’s 10th win, and of course some much needed Twitter Love.

Facing the reigning Tier II Most Valuable Player & Pitcher of the Year Leigh Lacroix, the SweatSox jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first thanks in part to a Marc Lett bases loaded 2RBI single up the middle. The SweatSox wouldn’t score again until the 5th, when the first Outlaw error of the game helped the Sox score 4 runs and en route to a commanding 7-1 lead. After running into a bit of trouble in the 6th, Ramage was pulled in favour of right fielder Ross “The Merchandise” Hughes. Ross got out of the inning, but not before giving up a couple Ramage runs (and one of his own), making it a 3 run game heading into the final frame. Like Josh in the 6th, Ross ran into a bit of trouble in the 7th, and was removed in favour of Cory “The Solution” Bond. Helped by a near triple play from Denver Hunt, GLE closed the game out, and picked up his second save of the season. SweatSox 7, Outlaws 4 (F).

The winners of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP are: Josh Ramage and Denver Hunt. Josh pitched 5 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 walks, 3 earned runs, and did indeed pick up his 6th win of the season. Denver went 3/4 at the plate with 3 doubles, 2 runs, and a stolen base. Honourable mentions go out to myself (Shaun Keay), Sylvain Viau, Josh Ramage, myself again, almost Marc Lett, Denver Hunt, and everyone else who was hanging around near the longest pickle in SweatSox history. Shoutout to B. McGovern who had to endure that, especially after a long night of stag’ing. Dishonourable mention to J. Willms who bought a ticket, but never made it out

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was hosted by Sylvain Viau, who has been scheduled to host the Hyjinx for weeks, and yet somehow forgot the beer. After a brief pow-wow on which beer store was closest to the Sportsplex, Viau raced off as the rest of us discussed whether or not this was cut-worthy. He can stay, for now.

Sylvain eventually came back with 30 beers, no cooler, and one bag of ice. Not quite sure what his plan was, but fortunately A&W co-winner Denver Hunt had bonus ice in his personal cooler. Combine that with my umbrella to supply a bit of shade, and we had ourselves some cold beer.

It was clear that the Outlaws were still feeling the effects of the night before, because they bailed their circle pretty quickly, and didn’t even order any pizza. Fortunately for the local pizza delivery industry, the SweatSox Hyjinx was in full force, and it was pizza we wanted, so it was pizza we got.

The Hyjinx continued deep into the afternoon, well after the game after ours ended and we were then head to head with the Knights. The Knights should be commended for their circle; they had a good crowd, a full sized BBQ, a variety of condiments, and hamburgers! Unfortunately, the Knights showed no respect for the SweatSox Hyjinx because instead of offering us some burgers, they tried to sell them to us at $10 a pop. We can’t drink beer after our Trillium game next week because of them, and they try to sell us meat? Nevertheless, they run a tight circle. Keep it up.

Next up for the SweatSox is a matchup with our new potential bête noires, the Expos, Wednesday night at McCarthy. Who knows who’ll be there, so who knows who’ll be starting. See ya there.

It took 18 games, but we finally got everyone together for a team photo. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2011 SweatSox:

From L to R: Josh Ramage, I (Shaun Keay), Denver Hunt, Phil Johnson, Marc Lett, Sylvain Viau, Cory Bond (with A&W), John Groves, Kelly Adkin, Guy Guy, and Mark Bond.

After a loss to the Expos on Thursday, sources say SweatSox management went on a massive cutting spree and parted ways with Rafael Castillo, Craig Cornell, Ross Hughes, Kent Johnston, Travis Murdock, David Nelson, and Armando Navarro. With that done and “no erasies” having been called, the new look SweatSox took on the Metcalfe Mudd for the third and final time this year last night at the Sportsplex. Looking for a win to get back to .500, the SweatSox called up John Groves to take the hill.

The SweatSox jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first after a Sylvain Viau RBI double scored Cory Bond from first. Cory ran so fast, I’m surprised he doesn’t have any stolen bases yet this year. Prediction: Cory will get one next game! The Mudd answered back in the 2nd, taking the lead after a couple Sox errors led to 3 runs. The SweatSox would eventually tie the game in the 5th when a Bus Cop SAC BUNT led to an RBI groundout by me. The SweatSox then took the lead in the 6th after scoring two runs of Denver hunt and Sylvain Viau RBI’s. OMG came out for the 7th, but was pulled after a leadoff single by The Authority in favor of Viau, who closed the game out for his second save of the season. SweatSox 5 - Mudd 3 (F).

The winners of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award are: John Groves and Sylvain Viau. OMG pitched 6 innings of 7-hit 1-walk 1-earned-run 2-strikeout ball. As mentioned, Sylvain pitched 1 inning and got the save, and at the plate went 3/3 with a double, 2 RBI, 2R, a walk, and a stolen base.

The SweatSox would once again like to shoutout to the umpiring crew of last night’s game. The Brewer/Braumeister combination was more than competent, and did a great job (except for maybe one strike three call on our manager). Thanks guys.

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was hosted by Marc Lett, who brought the strange combination of one case of beer and two bags of water in his cooler. Since that wasn’t going to quench the thirsts of these new look SweatSox, part two of the Hyjinx took place over at Boston Pizza, where Johnny Groves managed to park in a secret/hidden VIP spot. OMG then stepped up bigtime in BP, picking up the tab on the team pitcher that he “tried” to pour earlier in the night.

The rest of the night saw the SweatSox checking out the Jays game on TV, where some guy named J.P. Arencibia recorded two solo homeruns against the Texas Rangers in a 12-2 loss. Other Hyjinx highlights included a French-Fry-Off between OML and I (Shaun Keay), OML had more, ate more, and won.

Next up for the SweatSox is a matchup with the Tier 1 bound Outlaws, tomorrow at the Sportsplex. Josh Ramage has asked for the start, and so it’s his.

If hell hosted a baseball game, it would probably be really hot and Travis Murdock would be in attendance still having not paid anything. To top it off, he’d probably come out to the bar with a +1, drink more beer, eat our well-earned free nachos, and still pay nothing. At least in this completely fictional scenario Travis would have had his own car and wouldn’t have needed to sneak into an old man’s ride to get to said bar. Finally, to be fair, if an “active” FatCat did actually show up at least he would have been on time, made a solid 2011 pitching debut, and given us a couple quality at bats… Right?

AN UMPIRE STRIKE?

It took until the 17th game, but the SweatSox and Expos finally met for the first time ever last night at Faulkner. Hoping for a rare 5th win in a row, the SweatSox sent Josh Ramage, a man who despite some puzzling stats keeps putting up W’s, to the hill. Helped by some stellar SweatSox defense including an inning ending Bus Cop to Cornell 8-5 putout, Josh got out of the top of the first run free. In the bottom, the SweatSox plated the first six men that batted highlighted by a Cory Bond 2RBI bases loaded single; 6-0 Sox though 1.

TIPPING SIGNS

The second inning saw the complete reverse of the first, as the Expos first nine batters reached base safely, chasing Ramage from the game, bringing in relief specialist GLE into the game a few innings earlier than expected. In the bottom of the inning, the SweatSox were retired in order; Expos up 7-6 through 2, and that would be as close as the Sox could get. The Expos added 6 runs over the final three innings to lead 13-6, and to make things look a bit better in the scorebook, the Sox scored 4 runs in the last inning to make the game look much closer than it actually was. Expos 13 – SweatSox 10 (F).

THE BRAUMEISTERS SHOW UP BIG IN TIER II

The SweatSox would like to take a moment to shoutout to the Braumeister umpiring crew who did our game last night. Great job guys. Thanks.

SHAUN KEAY: MR. DOUBLE PLAY

The winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award is: Cory Bond. The GLE led the team with two hits including a double, four RBI’s, two runs scored, pitched the most innings of all 4 SweatSox pitchers, and was screwed by me out of an easy putout at 1st base. That’s what you get for sitting me twice Mr. Authority. Honourable mention to everyone who threw or tossed a helmet last night, that seemed to happen more times than not for some reason. Also, a big thanks to David Fenn who came out last night to make sure we didn’t get stuck with an automatic out either because we had no 9th batter, or because Josh would have to bat.

TRAVIS IS A SVENGALI

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was once again a two-parter, with the first half hosted by Josh Ramage, and the other half by the Royal Oak Strandherd. The first half was highlighted by a Travis Murdock antic, when at one point he thought he was stomping on a beer can when in fact they were the eyeglasses of his +1. The back half of the Hyjinx featured a Bus Cop Mike’s Hard Pink sample spill, half shaven legs, and a complimentary nacho coupon loophole.

CAN’T GIVE AWAY FAT CAT TICKETS

Next up for the SweatSox is a matchup with the Metcalfe Mudd tonight at the Sportsplex. He doesn’t know it yet, but John Groves will be getting the start.

#WONTHEHYJINX

Earlier today, I received a rather disturbing text message from our very own Josh Ramage regarding a “Tweet” I made after our game last Friday. In that tweet, I mentioned the score, the fact we won four in a row, and then singled out John Groves as the winning pitcher and Cory Bond for recording the hold. Josh pitched a scoreless 7th inning in a non-save situation, and was upset he didn’t get a shoutout.

Listen up Osh Kosh, I’d hate to break the fourth wall and actually explain the inside jokes we tell here but I see no other choice. Yes, while a “hold” is hardly noteworthy, it’s because Cory absolutely hates whenever I post random stats/milestones about him that I keep posting random stats/milestones about him. By that same logic, I suppose that because you hate not getting credit I may continue to not give you credit in the future. Just keep winning games and you’ll get your Twitter love.

I apologize to everyone for having to call Josh out like this in public, but I said I would and I’m not a liar.

-SK

If somebody told us weeks ago that heading into game sixteen we’d have a chance to get back to .500, we’d think you were insane. Somehow, that was the case as the 7-8-0 SweatSox made the trek to Winchester to take on the Winchester Sox. With 7 of 14 SweatSox unable to play or make the trip, it was necessary to call up a couple spares. The 2005 SweatSox Rookie of the Year Joseph Majic agreed to come, which meant we now had 8. We also needed to find a pitcher who wouldn’t be scared to pitch in the ERA Graveyard known as Morgan Field, enter Old Man Groves.

LOOKS LIKE WE NEED A TAKE SIGN

The game started off well for the SweatSox, who put up two runs in the first off Cory Bond and Sylvain Viau RBI’s. The SweatSox added 4 more in the 2nd, capped off by RBI doubles from Kent Johnston and Denver Hunt, which chased the Winchester starter from the game.

PRETEND CAR TROUBLES & PRINTED LINEUPS

Johnny Groves pitched extremely well, keeping Winchester off the scoreboard until the 4th inning. OMG gave up his first HR in the 5th on a shot that may have gone out just about anywhere else, but in the 6th gave up a shot that would have definitely been caught anywhere else. Ah well. With the Sox lead cut to 3, The Authority brought an ailing GLE to pitch in his 4th straight game this week to stop the bleeding and kill the rally. In as gutty an effort we’ve seen, Bond fought through a couple walks and an error and got the job done.

4 IN A ROW? WHAT?

The SweatSox added an insurance run in the top of the 7th on a Craig Cornell BB/RBI, at which point it was decided that Ramage was healthy enough to take the hill and close the game out. Josh made it interesting, as Winchester was able to bring the winning run to the plate with one out, but Mr. Winchester dug deep into his arsenal of pitches and struck out back-to-back batters to end the game. OMG win, GLE hold, and Ramage with a non-save close.

UMP IN A SLUMP? WE GOT YOUR FIX

The winners of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP award are: Kent Johnston, Denver Hunt, Cory Bond, and Joseph Majic. With a big CFR-Pinecrest Junior matchup this weekend, this Pinecrest quattro led the way with 10 of the 11 Sox hits, 8 of the 10 runs, 6 of the 10 RBI’s, all 5 doubles, an outfield assist, and for good measure a hold to help secure the win. Honourable mention goes out to Cory & I, who again had no idea how to work a slow ground ball to the 1B side, but the out was made.

MY BATTERY IS LOW

The Après Baseball Hyjinx took place at the Royal Oak, where we had only minutes to get to the Oak before our second set of nacho coupons expired. Denver & Cory took the lead on Bank Street, while I took a self-appointed detour over to Albion because of Craig, who kept slowing down to check out the deer running alongside the road. The highlight of the Hyjinx was when Mrs. Denver somehow tracked down Cory’s phone number and sent him a message looking for Denver.

TIME TO REST

Next up for the SweatSox is a matchup with the Expos next Thursday at Faulkner. Weather permitting, this will be the first official matchup between these two teams in NCBL history.

#WONTHEHYJINX

It may have taken up until the last minute to figure out who was actually coming to the game (for both teams apparently), but the SweatSox did indeed take on the Mudd last night at the Sportsplex in their second of three matchups this season. As insurance to make sure there was no automatic out, or default for that matter, the SweatSox called up their 2008 Doug Dorion Memorial Trophy winner David Fenn to come out & play.

BATTING ORDER LOOPHOLE

Before the game even started, controversy surrounded the SweatSox bench when one unnamed SweatSox player was furious about the picture of J.P. Arencibia that I posted on Sunday. Apparently the picture did not convey the beauty (#nohomo) that is the Blue Jays catcher. To try and rectify this situation before a SweatSox Civil War breaks out, here are a few new pics that hopefully will calm everybody down:

KEVIN SINGER, BRYAN FENN, AND MIKE HINDMARSH – WHERE YOU AT?

In yet another pregame development, as the uniform master Kent Johnston was about to offer Fenn a jersey for the day, Dave surprised everyone by pulling out big brother Keith Fenn’s old SweatSox uniform out of his bag - a jersey we all thought was long lost. We now believe we’re just missing three “new” jerseys. Any information leading to the safe return of one of these jerseys may entitle you to a one beer reward.

CORNELL HAS “SCORED” EXACTLY 100 TIMES

The first inning of Sox-Mudd was relatively uneventful; starting pitcher Josh Ramage gave up a couple hits in a scoreless top of the inning, and in the bottom the SweatSox took a 1-0 lead on a Rafael Castillo RBI single. However, after reviewing the scoresheet and looking at the career stats, I’ve determined that the 1st inning will go down in history as the moment when Craig Cornell recorded his 100th career walk. The Consultant now joins myself (Shaun Keay), Kent, and Marc Lett as the only SweatSox with triple digit walks. Congratulations Sexy Eyes!

BATTING ORDER LOOPHOLE

After an extremely exciting game on Tuesday, it was going to be very hard for this game to match that one – and as expected, it completely failed in comparison. The SweatSox took a 3-0 lead into the 6th and in the 6th the Sox defense took a coffee break leading to a couple unearned runs. The GLE then entered the game, got out of the inning, and pitched a 1-2-3 7th for his first save of the season. SweatSox win 3 in a row?

CORY & KENT CARRY ANOTHER NICARAGUAN OFF THE FIELD

The winners of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP award are Josh Ramage and David Fenn. Mr. Burlinchester pitched 5.67 innings of 0ER ball while picking up his 5th win of the season. DFenn was 2/3 at the plate including an RBI double off the fence, and on defense made a bunch of plays at shortstop and third base. Honourable mention goes to Rafael Castillo who went 2/2 with an RBI and SB – but unfortunately was forced out of the game when a non-slide turned into a torn quad muscle. Get well soon.

NO CIGARS AND PIPES IN THESE HYJINX

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was hosted by the hundred walk man, who went old school and brought a case of bottled beer. The highlight of the Hyjinx was having the 2008 MVP Dave Fenn sign the Doug Dorion Memorial Trophy, which Kent was kind enough to bring. The signing of the Head is a SweatSox tradition that dates back all the way to I don’t know, 2001?

THE BEST TV IS A 13” FLATSCREEN HANGING ON THE WALL?

After winning the Hyjinx rather easily, the Sox moved the Hyjinx over to Boston Pizza Hunt Club where we arrived just in time to watch the Jays finish a beatdown of the Yankees on 80’s night. Big props to GZAUN for dressing the part. Unfortunately, the Boston Pizza point of sale system was not able to handle the power of my unlimited Black credit card – a reboot was necessary. A big shoutout goes to the Bus Cop, who was told by the server that his meal & drinks were on the house. We never got that offer at Greenbank or Carling!

FOUR IN A ROW? IT CAN’T BE DONE

Next up for the SweatSox is a matchup with the Winchester Sox tonight in Winchester. Sources say we’re short for players again, and multiple spares will be making the trek. I’ve got it on good authority that John Groves will be your starting pitcher.

#WONTHEHYJINX

The first of three games in four days took place last night at Heritage, where the SweatSox hosted the Gryphons in the 3rd of 4 matchups this season. Needing a win to not only kick off this important three game stretch properly, but to keep the momentum rolling coming off a win 3 days earlier, everyone expected Bond to take the hill. Everyone was correct…sort of. While the Bond didn’t start, a Bond did, the Bus Cop! Fresh off a 6-month expedition through the African jungles, Mark Bond made his return to the SweatSox lineup.

QUICK TIP: BUG SPRAY KEEPS YOU IN GAMES

Having not even thrown a ball since his last game last season, The Authority thought it would be a good idea to throw his little brother into the water to swim with the sharks. As expected Cop struggled through the first inning, at one point walking four Gryphons in a row, which drew some weird sounds from center field. For anyone who has not seen that before, don’t worry, that was just Kent morphing into the ACF. Fortunately, the SweatSox turned their first of four double plays and got out of the inning. Cop threw a 1-2-3 second inning, striking out two before getting the hook from big brother.

ON HIS LAST DAY WITH THE PLAYBOY; ARMY BREAKS WOOD

Fast Forward to the bottom of the 7th - with the Gryphons up 5-4 and the SweatSox down to their final out with the bases empty, The Authority made the call to pull Armando Navarro in favor of a pinch hitter. Would Cory put the all-time HR leader in (I, Shaun Keay) and go for the one-swing tie, would he put in Craig Cornell who’d be looking for a base hit, then hope for some top of the lineup magic, or would he put in Josh Ramage, who would strike out. The Authority opted for plan B. The Consultant got his base hit, and then with two strikes The Director knocked him in on a big-time RBI double. To extra innings we go.

IF I DON’T SLIDE I WON’T GET HURT

Using a rather ingenious pitching strategy, The Authority was able to send a relatively fresh GLE out for the 8th inning. Cory came into the game in the 6th in relief of Sylvain Viau, who pitched 3 innings of his own. GLE retired 9 of the 10 batters he faced (1HBP), including a quick 3-up 3-down 8th. With the umpires declaring that no matter what this was it, it was either tie or win for the Sox. The HRK tried to end it with one swing, but came up about 100 feet short. Rafael Castillo was up next and drew a walk, then was given the Mexican steal sign. David Nelson was intentionally walked, and in the process became the first SweatSox left handed batter to be intentionally walked since the Tribu walked Cory after hitting a HR many years ago at Aydelu. With the winning run still at 2nd, Ross “The Merchandise” Hughes stepped up to the plate and knocked the ball into RF, scoring Castillo from 2nd after some creative juking/bending to get by the Gryphons catcher. SweatSox win a thriller, 6-5.

A&W’S FOR EVERYONE – ALMOST

For the first time in SweatSox history, the winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP is split between 12 deserving players. Here’s a quick list of who and why:

Kent Johnston	Big time 2-strike, 2-out, bottom-of-the-7th, game-tying RBI double
Denver Hunt	Was a part of 3 of 4 SweatSox double plays - go-ahead SAC RBI in the 5th
Cory Bond	Retired 9 of the 10 batters he faced (1HBP). Winning pitcher.
Rafael Castillo	Was a part of 2 of 4 SweatSox double plays - scored the game winning run in the 8th!
David Nelson	Was intentionally walked; showed me how to toss the ball to the P on 1B
Ross Hughes	Walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the 8th
Sylvain Viau	Pitched 3 innings, giving up the lead so GLE could get the clean win
Marc Lett	RBI double in the 2nd - made another questionably timed pitching change
Armando Navarro	Made a nice warning track backpedaling catch; told Raf to steal in the 8th
Mark Bond	Having not thrown at all since 2010, started the game, and almost made a RF catch
Craig Cornell	Big time 2-out, bottom-of-the-7th single to get on base, and score the tying run from 1B
Shaun Keay	I played the part of the innocent 3rd base coach perfectly. Warmed up the pitchers.

CELEBRATORY FIREWORKS

While there were many great plays late in the game, an honourable mention goes out to Sylvain Viau and David Nelson, who in the 5th inning teamed up to perform the cleanest 3-1 putout in SweatSox history. Hopefully Cory and I can be as smooth next time we’re put in a similar situation. Prediction: the next time we are (a prediction within a prediction: it’ll be Friday), we won’t.

ARMY SAYS ADIOS

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was hosted by #12 Army Navarro, who knew we all had a long drive home so he brought Pabst Blue Ribbon LIGHT. Marc Lett then made a solid contribution, bringing team cigars to the Hyjinx for the first time this season. Did he know that we’d have a walk-off win in extra innings, did he know that this was Army’s last game for a couple weeks, did he know the OMS Mark Dorrington would come out and watch our game, or was he doing whatever he could to try and climb back into the Mr. Hyjinx 2011 race? Whatever his motives, the gesture was appreciated; but he still has a long way to go to regain his Mr. Hyjinx title.

LIMITED TIME OFFER: OMS IS SELLING SOME SIGNED MEMORABILIA AT A DIAMOND NEAR YOU

As mentioned, Armando will be gone for the next couple of weeks. Navarro will be headed down south for some much needed R&R, where hopefully he’ll make peace with the baseball gods and come back better than ever. For those who may be interested in following Army on his drive down the coast, his east coast tour will be stopping in the following major metropolitan areas: Portland, Boston, Springfield, Providence, Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Albany, New York, Jersey City, Newark, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News (Hampton Roads), Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, Charleston, Atlanta, and Savannah.

Next up for the SweatSox is a matchup with the Metcalfe Mudd on Thursday at the Sportsplex. Josh Ramage is scheduled to take the hill. I, Shaun Keay, better be scheduled to play somewhere after sitting all 8 innings yesterday; although I can’t really blame The Authority this time since he did offer me a spot in the game, and I refused. Maybe he doesn’t appreciate my sub .200 batting average in the lineup? If so, don’t worry boss, I’ll be practicing non-stop over the next two days in the batting cage I have in the basement of my expensive Kanata home. I’ll be ready for Thursday.

#WONTHEHYJINX

The Tier II rainout schedule was released earlier today, with the most notable SweatSox makeup game being on August 3rd when we make our long overdue return to Trillium, to face the Expos. A .pdf of the schedule can be found by clicking here, otherwise click below for the .html version.

For all those who didn't believe our Travis Murdock was a member of the Ottawa Fat Cats - here's your proof.

It took thirteen games, but the always-anticipated first Tier II Sox vs Sox matchup of the season finally took place yesterday afternoon at the Stadium. I, Shaun Keay, have been with the SweatSox for fourteen seasons and to my knowledge that was the first Saturday game we’ve ever played. Unfortunately, because we played on a Saturday I had to cancel the weekly Parcheesi game that I host for my old boarding school buddies in my extra large gazebo, located on the same property as my expensive Kanata home.

YOU DO NOT GET TO KEEP A FOUL BALL AT THE STADIUM

Tired of the Mr. Winchester moniker, Osh Kosh B’Josh pleaded with The Authority to give him the start, and being the accommodating manager that he is, Cory agreed. Ramage got off to quick start, and never really slowed down, facing only 14 batters through 4 innings. The SweatSox offense did its part early on, scoring 3 runs off RBI’s from Cory Bond and Kent Johnston.

GLE PITCHES IN HIS 100TH GAME, AGAIN!

Leading 3-1 heading into the bottom half of the 5th, the SweatSox broke the game open by scoring 3 more runs, highlighted by a 2RBI single from Denver Hunt. With a 5 run lead, Ramage took the hill in the 6th and with 2 on and 2 outs, catcher Marc Lett had an OM moment and thought there were no outs, the game was tied, and the bases were loaded; so he demanded that the GLE take the hill to close the game. Josh offered to walk the next batter so it would be a save situation, but as always Cory doesn’t play for stats, he just does whatever he can to help the team win. Bond entered the game, and pitched the final four outs. SweatSox 6 - Winchester 1.

RANDOM AUTOGRAPH SEEKERS

The winners of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award are: Josh Ramage and Denver Hunt. Ramage pitched 5.66 innings giving up only 2 hits, 0 earned runs, 6 walks, with 3 strikeouts en route to his 4th win of the season. DHunt went 1/2 with two big-time RBI’s, two stolen bases, and a run scored, all while playing a mean second base. Honourable mention goes out to Army Navarro who had a great diving catch in LF (which may have been a HR if he missed).

I’M GOING TO GET TWO STRAWS – SHE KNOWS

The Après Baseball Hyjinx took place at the newly opened Boston Pizza on Carling Avenue, where one of Shawna’s high school buddy’s was reportedly employed. Over the next seven hours, the SweatSox set multiple BP records including but not limited to: most beer ordered for a table, most water ordered for a table, most iced teas ordered for a table, most Phily cheesesteaks ordered for a table, most Phily cheesesteaks ordered for an individual, most food ordered that didn’t include a pizza, and biggest ratio of troublemakers to gentlemen (1/4).

NO WAITRESS PICS ALLOWED

While the SweatSox watched a full NASCAR race, baseball game, UFC fight, and poker tournament, we had to do so while avoiding eye contact with the local underground contraband sales representative; or risk being caught in a lengthy sales pitch. That mission was a success, but not before being asked by a next-table neighbour if it was possible to swim in a team pitcher. No more beer for that dude.

RANDOM SOCCER UPDATES

We’re not sure who Army bribed on the NCBL scheduling committee, because next up for the SweatSox is a home game at Heritage against the Gryphons. Travis Murdock is scheduled to make his first start of the season, and hopefully his first league fee payment of the season too.

#LONGESTHYJINXEVER
#WONTHEHYJINX

After a week off from ball, the SweatSox returned to action last night at McCarthy facing off against the Braves for the third and final time this season. Finally ready to make his first start of the season, the SweatSox sent The Next Big Thing Sylvain Viau to the hill.

THE SWEATSOX START WITH 8

Viau got a quick taste of the SweatSox Tier V defense, when three errors in the first two innings led to five Braves runs. The Braves would add four more in the fourth, and two in the 6th en route to an 11-3 beatdown of the SweatSox. After a huge loss like this, especially one where I struck out twice, I like to calm myself down by spending some time relaxing in my greenhouse, which if you’re curious has it’s own independent power grid.

YOU DON’T WANT A BAG FOR THAT?

For the first time in over a year, the winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award is Armando Navarro. #12 went 1/3 with a double, two stolen bases, and two runs scored; but gives credit to this breakout game to The Authority Cory Bond, who brought him a special gift before the game to pump him up. In fact, the 2009 Tier II Sportsmanship & Ability Winner actually tried to give back the A&W to Cory for his unprecedented act of kindness, but in an even GREATER show of sportsmanship, Cory gave it right back. Its times like this I’m proud to be a part of the SweatSox.

THE MORE YOU KNOW

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was hosted by the man who set the all time wood bat hit streak record earlier in the game: Cory Bond. Cory hit in his 9th consecutive game surpassing Bill Freeman and Mark Dorrington, who could only hit in 8 straight. The Whitest Lefty Ever also set the tone for future Hyjinx by bringing two cases of tallboys to the circle, and a bag of half eaten salted shelled peanuts. That combination would have gone perfectly with my leftover CostCo meat that we all thought Josh took last game, but he pointed the finger at the Director.

CAN SHE FROST MY POLE?

The rest of the Hyjinx was spent scouting the Knights, who we’re on pace to be facing several times next year in Tier III. We also caught a glimpse of the Pirates, who are on pace to be up in Tier II next year. Sources say they have a dude who already has 114 strikeouts this year!

“MY ASS IS HURTING BECAUSE OF ~~THE~~ HARD WOOD”

It’s not often that we can stump CSI: Lett with common trivia, which made last night extra special when OML could not identify what the scientific name for a three dimensional rectangle was. While he knew that a cube was a polyhedron, and a polyhedron was not necessarily a cube, GZaun did not know about the rectangular cuboid.

THE SHOCKER IS THE REVERSE MIDDLE FINGER

Next up for the SweatSox is the first matchup of the season against the Winchester Sox. The GLE is scheduled to start.

#WONTHEHYJINX

With over a week off since our last "game", I've had a few moments to catch up on some long overdue statwork. As you may recall, Craig Cornell recently asked for the updated all-time run and plate appearance lists, and so he got it. A short while ago, rookie Ross Hughes asked to see his batting average, he was denied. Now, Marc Lett was curious as to what a SweatSox hit streak list might look like. GZaun has been with the SweatSox longer than anyone else not named I, Shaun Keay - so request approved. Here it is (since 2002):

	Hitting Streaks (Wood Bat Era)
	Name	Season(s)	# of Games
1	Cory Bond	2011	9
2	Mark Dorrington	2008	8
2	Bill Freeman	2008	8
4	Travis Murdock	2010	6
4	Josh Ramage	2010	6
4	Cory Bond	2008	6
7	David Nelson	2010	5
7	Kent Johnston	2009	5
7	Armando Navarro	2009	5
7	Craig Cornell	2008	5
	*minimum 5 game streak

	Hitting Streaks
	Name	Season(s)	# of Games
1	Kent Johnston	2005-2006	20
2	Kent Johnston	2004-2005	15
3	Mark Dorrington	2007-2008	13
4	Sean Elias	2006	12
5	Craig Cornell	2004	11
6	Andy Brothers	2004	10
7	Andy Brothers	2003	9
7	Cory Bond	2011	9
9	Bill Freeman	2008	8
9	Mark Dorrington	2005-2006	8
9	Shaun Keay	2002-2003	8
12	Bill Freeman	2007	7
12	Mark Dorrington	2006-2007	7
12	Kent Johnston	2006	7
12	Chris Chapman	2005	7
12	Sean Elias	2005	7
12	Jon Gilbert	2002-2003	7
18	Travis Murdock	2010	6
18	Josh Ramage	2010	6
18	Cory Bond	2008	6
18	Chris Chapman	2004-2005	6
18	Craig Cornell	2004-2005	6
18	Bruce Gilbert	2002	6
24	David Nelson	2010	5
24	Kent Johnston	2009	5
24	Armando Navarro	2009	5
24	David Fenn	2008	5
24	Craig Cornell	2008	5
24	Craig Cornell	2007	5
24	Cory Bond	2006	5
24	Craig Cornell	2006	5
24	Armando Navarro	2006	5
24	Cory Bond	2005-2006	5
24	Joseph Majic	2005	5
24	Doug Horner	2004	5
24	Shaun Keay	2004	5
24	Bruce Gilbert	2003	5
24	Craig Cornell	2003	5
	*minimum 5 game streak

The SweatSox return to action later tonight against the Braves at McCarthy. Either Cory Bond, Sylvain Viau, Ross Hughes, or Josh Ramage will get the start.

With the season already 45.83333% complete, it's the perfect time to almost hand out the 2011 Almost Midseason Awards. To qualify for one of these prestigious awards, you must have paid your league fees in full. Here are your finalists (in alphabetical order):

*while not actually a Sox rookie, Cory looks like a whole new person at the plate this year

The winners will be announced at an upcoming Hyjinx. Congratulations to everyone who was nominated, and good luck.

You may have heard rumors that during the 2010 Fall Ball season, our Armando Navarro actually pitched. Wonder no more; we now have proof in our updated picture section, along with 35 other pics including me curing cancer, a granola bar hot dog, Sylvain's permission slip, and Doug Dorion at an old NCBL banquet!

The SweatSox and Expos faced off for the first time in NCBL history last night at Brewer, unofficially. In the bottom of the second with the Sox down 4-2 and the huge storm Kent Johnston thought was coming an hour earlier getting closer and closer, both the plate umpire and team managers agreed it was best to call the game right then and there. By the time the players reached the parking lot, it was pouring rain.

HOW MANY EXPOS DOES IT TAKE TO TURN ON A LIGHT

The 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP winners were Cory Bond and Kent Johnston. Cory finished 2RBI, while Kent finished with 2 hits. As usual Bond declined the “dirty A&W”, but Kent wasn’t so honorable. It took him a good 30 minutes to finally decide he didn’t want to win it that way. That’s 29 minutes, 59 seconds too long pal.

A QUESTIONABLE COOLER SETUP

While the Expos scurried home, the SweatSox Hyjinx was just beginning. The Final Three were joined by the weatherman as well as starting pitcher Sylvain Viau, who was also the scheduled host for the night. Using umbrellas or hatchback doors to repel the rain, the SweatSox Hyjinx proceeded as usual, except that there was no BBQ. There was meat, but no Q. The blame here goes to Josh Ramage, Sylvain, Kent, and I, Shaun Keay, all of whom have yet to bring an un-built BBQ.

REGULAR PITCHERS

After dozens of beers were consumed and with no food in sight, it was time to move the Hyjinx down the street to Local Heroes for some wings, garlic “sticks”, herotails, and whatever Josh and Sylvain ordered. What we didn’t expect was to walk in on a Jason MacDonald “Kick-off to the Summer of Change” party. We all thought about moving to the Ottawa South riding and voting for him if he promised to fix Brewer, but it turns out Brewer isn’t in Ottawa South. New Plan: City of Ottawa, if you want to tear down a baseball diamond, forget Ottawa Stadium and tear down Brewer. We’d rather play at Aydelu than that slab of concrete.

I’LL HAVE A GLASS OF MILK WITH AN UMBRELLA PLEASE

Like the Royal Oak Hyjinx a couple weeks ago, once again the SweatSox were seated next to a group of mademoiselles. Unfortunately Ramage was not able to seal the deal this time around, for the ladies were too busy taking care of our GLE who just barely survived a near death experience.

DO ANY FORMER MANAGERS HAVE STAT PROGRAMS FROM 2007 & 2008?

Next up for the SweatSox is the third and final matchup against the Braves next Wednesday at McCarthy. This long break comes at a perfect time for me as my close buddies Bill & Kathy are flying in from England in a couple days. They of course will be staying in the executive wing of my expensive Kanata home.

#WONTHEHYJINX

In the past, it’s taken about 24 hours for game writeups to get posted here on the website. That hasn’t been because I’m lazy or been procrastinating, it’s been because of my crappy Internet connection. No more. I’m happy to report that I had my IT guys install an OC-12 network line here in my expensive Kanata home, which is how this story was able to be posted just minutes after the Hyjinx ended. If you’re only seeing this post for the first time on like Tuesday afternoon, it’s your fault for not refreshing the page earlier.

BE NICE TO EVERYONE, THEY COULD SOMEDAY BE AN UMP

The SweatSox and Athletics played for the third and final time yesterday at Faulkner; actually with 6 of 13 paid (and I use that term loosely) players missing, it was more like the SwSox. With 7 regulars, well 6.5 if we count Ramage, left to hold down the fort, the SwSox called up John Groves and a pair of former Doug Dorion Memorial Trophy winners in Mark Dorrington and David Fenn to help field a team.

SHAKING OFF THE MIDDLE FINGER

Things started off promising for the SweatSox when in the 1st with the bigtime shift in place, Cory Bond found some free space on the right side to knock in Kent Johnston from second, giving the SweatSox a 1-0 lead. Johnston had reached base via HBP, the first of five the top four hitters in the Sox lineup would take at one point or another in the game. The lead was short lived though as the Athletics would score two in the bottom. Denver Hunt would tie the game up in the 3rd, scoring the GLE from second on a base hit up the middle.

THIS ALL SOUNDS LIKE FICTION

The 5th inning will probably be one of the stranger innings we’ll see for a while. In the top, the OMS was hit by pitch, breaking the hand of god. That is bad. Next up was Cory, who was hit square in the back, and never saw it coming. That is bad. Fortunately, this HBP had the opposite effect than Mark’s, because this one apparently cured Bond’s chronic back pains! That is good. OMS thought about continuing to play, but not even he could cure broken bones that quickly; and so he was forced out of the game, and into a hospital. That is bad. With only one player on the bench, Josh Ramage got to play the field in a position other than pitcher. That is good. Then, the Athletics scored 8 runs. That is bad. Then the 5th inning ended. That is good.

FINAL: ATHLETICS 10, SWEATSOX 2

In a game where the SweatSox got hammered by 8, you’d think we wouldn’t award the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP award. For any Athletics reading, this is the opposite of “The Pledge”, which seemed to fascinate some SweatSox who had never seen this ritual before. If only we had the actual medal, that OML has now stolen, we could have a neat ceremony too. Between games, let’s just keep it with Cory, since we KNOW he’ll be at the next game. So yeah, we got beat by 8, got hit more times than we hit, lost OMS to injury, and yet we still found a way to award the A&W three-ways.

NOT A SMART KID

Picking up the first third of the A&W is Denver Hunt, who had 1 of the 2 Sox RBI’s and made a spectacular over the shoulder catch in right field, and surprisingly didn’t even call it. Hunt also won the award in spite of not announcing to passing drivers in the 416 that a pickle was taking place. The second third of the A&W goes to Ross Hughes, who had 2 of the 4 Sox hits, pitched a scoreless 6th inning after getting an unusual pep-talk from the Authority, and brought 1 new BBQ and 3 cans of propane to the Hyjinx. Finally, the third third of the A&W goes to Cory Bond, who went 1/2 at the plate with an RBI & run scored, and on defense made plays at all three positions he played, highlighted by his first ever recorded assist at 3B on a 5-3 putout.

IF YOU GUYS EVER EMBARRASS ME LIKE THAT, I’LL KILL YOU

The highlight of the game happened in the 6th, when John Groves lived up to his OM status. It seems as though Groves thought he was playing softball, and didn’t have to wear a helmet when batting. If only those on the bench were paying attention and gave him a heads up BEFORE the umpire had to go over baseball protocols with him at the plate.

THAT WAS A DIRECT HAND-IN-BBQ LIGHT!

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was hosted by The Director of Green, who didn’t even know he was on beer duty until he saw his name in orange on the site. I provided the meat that Lupe bought from CostCo, which I believe means mine is now bigger than Bond and Hunt and Navarro's. I predict Josh’s meat will be the same size.

WHERE’S THE LIGHTING HOLE?

After paying Lupe overtime to make a last minute CostCo run, I got worried when I realized there wasn’t a BBQ present. With OML away with the official BBQ, and Cory too busy sending reminders to everyone else that he didn’t even think to bring his, we had to think outside the box to cook our meat. Actually, as mentioned earlier we just sent Ross home to grab his mini-BBQ, still in it’s original packaging. I built it, and like before didn’t even need to use all the pieces.

KJ FORCES ANOTHER FAULKNER BEER SPILL

With beer, meat, and fire, the Hyjinx was able to proceed as usual. Josh Ramage spilled a beer, the bug spray made a much needed first appearance of the season in the circle, we got to witness the longest dog walk in history, and we found out that Poppa Ross probably goes by one of the following names: Darrel, Darrell, Darrelle, Darryl, Darryll, Darrylle, Darel, Darell, Darelle, Daryl, Daryll, Darylle, Derrel, Derrell, Derrelle, Derryl, Derryll, Derrylle, Derel, Derell, Derelle, Deryl, Deryll, or Derylle.

THAT CANNOT BE TRUE

The Hyjinx continued for many hours, until we were left with The Final Three. We could hear the crowd roaring down in the stands, so we decided to take the 12 bonus beers we had left down to see what the fuss was about. Turns out it was a Cardinals-Panthers Tier I game, tied 0-0 heading into extra innings. The Panthers took a 3-0 lead in the top before realizing the lights could go off in minutes, then forced the end of the inning, scoring a 4th run in all the chaos. The Cardinals did what they could to prolong the game in the bottom of the 8th, but it wasn’t meant to be. Nice finish to a close game, and a perfect way to end the Hyjinx.

THE BLOGMASTER SPEAKS…AGAIN

For the Athletics take on yesterday’s game, click here. We apologize for the broken link in last Sunday’s recap. Not sure what happened.

IF EVER A RAINOUT WAS WELCOMED

Next up for the SweatSox is the first matchup of the season against the Expos tomorrow night at glorious Brewer Park. I guess Aydelu wasn’t available.

#WONTHEHYJINX

There appears to be a familiar face in this commercial, like at the 0:07 second mark...

Thanks to our official photographer Cory Bond, who made the long trek out to the diamond to take this pic.

Before the SweatSox even took the field last night, the big buzz around the dugout was about the Après Hyjinx Tomfoolery Josh Ramage took part in last game. As you may recall, the last time I saw Josh was as he drove away with a couple graduating Algonquin photography students. In actuality, that was a lie. I wasn’t going to say anything but since Josh was telling everyone, it’s now public information. Wanting to impress the females, Ramage took them back to MY expensive Kanata home for a swim in my grotto. You might now be wondering how Josh got through the retina scanner at the front gate, and the answer is simple: all SweatSox are authorized. It was also a good thing those girls didn’t know much about baseball, because the more Josh talked about his sub 5.00ERA, how he leads the team in blown saves, and he's the only person ever to hit into a 7-3 putout, the more aroused they got. Mr. Winchester hits a 3-way homerun!

The SweatSox and Gryphons played their third of four games this season last night at the Stadium, with the GLE Cory Bond on the mound making his 100th career pitching appearance. Cory got out of the first with a putout, a strikeout, and no runs, then sat on the bench and watched as the SweatSox loaded the bases for #9 batter Marc Lett. Primed for a grand slam, a game that probably never should have started, got lightning’d out right there and then. Ah well. Shoutout to the umps for at least giving the game a shot at being played.

Although we only played an inning and half, there were still some interesting happenings that have to be reported. First, for the first time in his career, Rafael slid – sort of. On a pickoff attempt, Raf dove back to first in such a way that his jersey never touched the ground; we’re calling it the pushup slide! Then, right after this the Gryphons tried a hidden ball trick on him! Not since Kent was picked off by the Acadiens on a 1-8 putout have we seen such nerve. It failed.

For "almost" pitching in his 100th game, the team unanimously voted Cory Bond as the winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award, but in true Cory form he declined the honor because quote, “I’m not taking an A&W for pitching in an 8 out game that doesn’t count”. Bravo Cory, bravo.

The Après Baseball Hyjinx took place once again at Boston Pizza, but this time the one on St. Laurent. Rookie Sylvain Viau stepped up for the traditional team pitcher pouring challenge, and since it was poured to the top, he failed. I, Shaun Keay, tried the second time around, and anticipating I’d fail, set out a few napkins to absorb the spill, a beer diaper if you prefer. I spilled, it mostly absorbed, and this was another sad day in SweatSox land.

In the last game update, I talked about how Craig wanted to see the all time runs leaderboard, and I agreed. Last night, Ross had the audacity to ask what his batting average was, because he was “curious”. I told him what I tell everyone else, check the stats page by clicking here. Then, Craig asked what the updated all time plate appearance leaderboard looked like, and since he’s the Consultant I had no choice but to agree yet again. I’m such a nice guy:

Next up for the SweatSox is a game tonight against the Outlaws, who we’ll be seeing for the 4th time in the last couple of weeks, however before last night’s game Marc Lett did some sort of magic spell, and predicted the game would be cancelled due to rain. So we’ll see you all on Sunday when we play the Athletics.

When Cory sat me the other day ending my 11 game Ironman streak, I decided to put together a list of all Ironmen over the years (well, since 2002). Here's what I came up with, as of Wednesday, June 22, 2011:

SweatSox IronMen (20+ Games & Active Streaks)
Name	Streak	When
Cory Bond	58	2009-
Shaun Keay	47	2003-2005
Cory Bond	38	2005-2006
Kent Johnston	34	2007-2009
Shaun Keay	32	2007-2009
Kent Johnston	31	2004-2005
Travis Murdock	25	2009-2010
Cory Bond	25	2007-2008
Craig Cornell	25	2006-2007
Marc Lett	23	2006-2007
Andy Brothers	23	2003-2004
Kent Johnston	22	2005-2006
Chris Chapman	22	2002-2003
Brian Yabsley	20	2005-2006
Armando Navarro	7	2011-
David Nelson	6	2011-
Craig Cornell	4	2011-
Ross Hughes	4	2011-
Kent Johnston	3	2011-
Marc Lett	3	2011-
Josh Ramage	3	2011-
Travis Murdock	2	2011-
Rafael Castillo	1	2011-

So there I was, pulling up to the gate of my expensive Kanata home after yet another amazing Hyjinx, when my emotions finally got the better of me. While a 17-5 SweatSox win over the Athletics was awesome, that son of a bitch Cory Bond didn’t play me. What, that punk couldn’t get me in for the last inning when we were up 12? He knows I show up for all the games, yet won’t show me the respect of getting me in every game. He probably knows I could threaten his precious ironman streak, which by the way is up to 58 straight regular season games now, and because he’s The Authority he’ll make sure it’s never broken. So there I was, in my car trying to get the retina scanner to identify me (Shaun Keay) and open the gate, but the tears in my eyes were obscuring the reading, and I was trapped. Fortunately, Lupe was still home and opened the gate from the inside.

BLESSED PEACH PUNCH

SweatSox vs Athletics is always set up to be a fun one; will Bond and Paquette face off for the first time since their 9 inning duel last season, will Angus and Denver reunite, will the Bus Cop try to decapitate any more Athletics, will anyone get tossed? The storylines are endless, so would this game be any different?

THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER

The SweatSox jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first, which would ultimately be all the runs the SweatSox needed to secure an unprecedented second win in a row. Kent Johnston gets credit for the game winning RBI with a hit in his second at bat of the first. Over the next 4 innings, the SweatSox would add 11 more runs, including 2 in the second, 1 in the fourth, and 8 in the fifth and final inning.

MARC KISSED HIS WOOD, THEN TOOK IT IN THE ASS

Josh Ramage, who never had to pitch with a lead less than 4, threw the complete game giving up 5 hits, 4 walks, and 4 earned runs. Josh also gets a piece of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP award, sharing it with Marc Lett, who went 1/1 with 3BB (2HBP), a double, and a team high 3RBI. OML also broke a bat and scored two runs, one of which came after showing some “blazing” speed from second base on a Hughes RBI single.

ROSS IS NOW FULLY PAID…OR IS HE

Honourable mentions go out to Craig Cornell, who went 2/2 with 4 runs scored; Kent Johnston who went 2/3, was hit by a ball that was right over the plate, and scored 3 runs; and to Ross Hughes, who broke Cory’s wood twice, and did his best Denver Hunt impression while playing 2B (Ross: Denver usually catches it when he calls it prematurely). Bond had to then bust out his new MaxBat, and went 1/1 on a questionable sounding hit up the middle.

CODE: ORANGE

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was scheduled to be hosted by Sylvain Viau, but he missed the game due to work and was unable to fulfill his duties. Enter me, Shaun Keay, to bail him and the rest of the team out of a beer-less Hyjinx. Maybe if Cory knew I was averting a Code: Orange I would have gotten some playing time.

THE SOFTBALL HYJINX HAD A PIG!!!

While I may have brought the beer, only three of us were drinking it. With many Father’s Day gatherings to get to, only Josh, Cory, and I held the circle together. One-time SweatSock Marcel Levac couldn’t believe everyone had abandoned the Final Three, but was proud that we didn’t leave any beers un-drunk. Umpire Stew also dropped by and expressed his disappointment that we were packing things up at only 6:00PM - but once he heard we played in the 1:00PM game, and were simply relocating down the street, he backed down.

RAMAGE BE PIMPING

Knowing our #1 waitress was off today, the Final Three moved the Hyjinx over to the Strandherd Royal Oak, where we were able to use a couple free nacho vouchers. We also happened to be seated right next to a group of college girls, who if I recall correctly said they were all about to graduate from the photography program at Algonquin. With Cory’s recent engagement to Mrs. Cory, and my preference for cougars, the door was wide open for Josh to make his move on these women. Unlike his previous unsuccessful attempts at mating we’ve all witnessed in the past, Ramage seemed to be making serious progress, enough so that he actually left with two of them, forcing me to go out of my way to drive Cory home. Props to Ramage though, can’t wait to hear all the details, and find out whether or not you actually posed for some pictures with them.

CORNELL CHOOSES RUNS

Craig Cornell has done many great things for both the SweatSox and the NCBL over the years. As manager of the Sox, Cornell led the team to some of the most successful seasons in our 30 year history, including the 2005 Tier III Championship. As everyone also knows, there is a stat blackout still in place until everyone pays their league fees. That ruling is final and can never be waived, EXCEPT when Craig wonders about a career milestone. I told Craig that in thanks for everything he’s done, I’ll show him anything he wants to see. Respectful of the blackout, all he asked to see was an updated list of the top 5 career run scorers. No problem buddy, here you go, but please no reverse engineering these stats to determine how many runs you, Kent, me, and Cory have this year:

THE BLOGMASTER? SPEAKS

For the Athletics take on yesterday’s game, click here.

MURDOCK TRIED TO STIFF NELSON

Next up for the Hyjinx is a matchup at the Stadium against the Gryphons on Thursday. Unfortunately, there is a small chance of rain, which means there’s a good chance OSG will cancel our game. The game after that is on Friday, at 6:15PM against the Outlaws at Faulkner. See you soon.

#WONTHEHYJINX

There are no words to explain what you're about to see. Shoutout to the Athletics for passing this our way. Enjoy:

It took longer than expected, but the SweatSox are pleased to announce that Rodney Walsh is now following the SweatSox. At first he only followed Mr. Hyjinx 2007, then called his head ugly; and now he turns his attention to our GLE, suggesting he light himself on fire!

"To compete, your next Hyjinx should feature Cory Bond turning over the Gatoraide jug and lighting himself on fire!"

The last two Hyjinx have taught not only the SweatSox, but everyone a valuable lesson on putting a password on your phones when you leave the circle. On the left is a screenshot of what happens when you don't have a password, and on the right is a screenshot of what happens when you do. Hopefully there won't be any 5 game suspensions handed out here, but if there is, give it to David Nelson.

After only being benched for 2 of the 59 innings the SweatSox have played so far this season, I’m very thankful that many moons ago I decided to purchase a hypobaric chamber for my expensive Kanata home, because without the use of this ingenious contraption I’m not sure my current on base percentage would be .400 right now. Moreover, we’re coming off a big win against the Outlaws yesterday, and there’s only one way Shaun Keay celebrates a win over the defending champs: I take a stroll into my walk-in humidor, track down one of Cuba’s finest, and then smoke it like Kent’s ears would smoke if he ever observes somebody not recycling, aka a Code: Blanka.

SweatSox-Outlaws Round 3 took place yesterday afternoon at Faulkner, with a scheduled pitching matchup of our GLE: Cory Bond versus whoever was capable of throwing a ball 60 feet 6 inches for the Outlaws; reports indicate Martelle & Lacroix were in Vegas, another dude was bungee jumping, and McGee had thrown against us on Friday. Although the odds were in our favor, you just knew the SweatSox would keep things interesting.

The SweatSox jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first after a wild pitch scored Kent “Johnson”, and an RBI single from Cory scored Mark Dorrington. The Sox would add two more runs in the 4th, and another in the 5th to take a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom half of the 5th. At this point the GLE had retired 12 Outlaws in a row, but that streak came to an end after an E-FatCat put a baserunner on, eventually leading to a couple unearned runs, and a one run SweatSox lead.

Remember last game when we reported Josh Ramage guaranteed himself a win the next time he pitched? Turns out he wasn’t kidding, because in the 6th Josh blew the chance at tying Cory for the all time saves lead by giving up the tying run, setting himself up for the dirty win. Sensing he let our great lefty down, Josh then nearly committed suicide by calling of the OMS on an infield fly ball, originally called by the OMS. Josh lived to tell about it though.

Tied heading into the 7th, Travis led things off with a base hit, and then was sacrificed to 2nd on a Bond SAC-BUNT. On his way back to the dugout, our Authority had a vision, and promptly made what at the time was a controversial managerial move, pulling Ramage from the game and sending David Nelson to the plate. RBI single, SweatSox lead 6-5.

The Outlaws had an even better opportunity in the bottom of the 7th to score multiple runs, putting the first two men on. I guess someone missed a sign, because after an infield fly, there was a game ending 5-3 double play. Who was playing third base? David Nelson. The Authority had put him there, knowing he’d be put in a position to make a play - it was another great executive decision. Sylvain Viau picked up his first career save, tying him for 11th on the all-time list.

The winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP is the dynamic duo of Cory Bond and David Nelson. As mentioned, Nelson had the game winning RBI and turned the game winning double play. Cory was 1/2 at the plate while facing the big shift on D, and while pitching in his 99th career game for the SweatSox, threw 5 innings of 5 hit 1 walk ball, with 2 earned runs and 3 strikeouts. Big shoutout to my cousin Jon who studies the website and knew heading into the game Cory was only 1 strikeout away from #400, and sure enough showed up to witness this career milestone.

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was hosted by David Nelson & Sylvain Viau. It should be noted that Nelson was late for the game yesterday; not because he was rushing to the beer store, but because he forgot about the game while watching racing on TV. At least he brought the beer, and won the game for us. Forgiven. Shoutout to PtOF who we think was hovering around the circle early in the Hyjinx! Shoutout to Ross who left the circle before his old man! Shoutout to the cigar that was sitting in Marc’s car for several months, and then smoked by Marc!

The SweatSox have had some memorable games over the years. Who could forget Doug Dorion’s 3-hit game against the Dukes back in 1992, the same game he rallied the troops by demanding a King Sized inning from everyone. Remember when I recorded a hit in my first ever NCBL at bat back in 1998? What about when Cornell and Massey went back to back in 2003? The time Cory took Commissioner Beelen deep twice at McCarthy? When the SweatSox beat the Old Sox to win the Tier 3 championship? The Mr. Winchester game? 20-18? While those were all very memorable, the most notorious game though took place on August 2, 2006 in the rain against the Gryphons. That was the game that led to the most famous text message in SweatSox history: “Army went deep, OMS lost, Robert quit”. Well during yesterday’s Hyjinx we learned something about that game that we’d never heard before. We knew OMS pitched 6 2/3 innings that game, and Cory threw the final out, but nobody really remembers who made that switch – until now. Army says HE did.

When the beer ran out, it was time to move the Hyjinx elsewhere. Since Marc Lett missed the last Faulkner Hyjinx, he demanded we go back to BP to see Mrs. Denver’s ~~high school~~ university buddy Shawna; and when OML puts his foot down, the decision is final, just ask Mrs. Marc. For all those curious, from Faulkner to BP the fastest ways are: 1) Fallowfield to Greenbank to BP 2) Fallowfield to Strandherd to Greenbank to BP 3) Fallowfield to Jockvale to Strandherd to Greenbank to BP.

When Mr. Hyjinx 2009 finally met Shawna, he was not disappointed. She remembered the SweatSox, she remembered all our previous orders, she inquired as to whether Kent had actually showered after our last time there or not (although at first she thought I was KJ), and then she even proceeded to describe in detail the troubles (Lana Epar) she was going through inside the restaurant.

Finally, we'd like to give a big shoutout to Marc Lett Jr, who came up big for his soccer team and scored two goals in a tournament yesterday. Can you spot him?

Next up for the SweatSox is a matchup with the Athletics next Sunday at Faulkner. We’re not quite sure who will and will not be there, but I’ve got a sneaky suspicion that a Code: ORANGE may be in play.

THE ROAMING BAGPIPER

After a demanding week at work where I make more than enough money to support & feed my two pet pythons, and still pay for my expensive Kanata home, my two car leases, my housekeeper, my masseuse, my gardener, and my pool guy, I usually always sit here in my den playing classical tunes on my ivory piano reflecting on how lucky I am to be me, Shaun Keay – and this beautiful Saturday afternoon is no different. If only there was a way to buy some runs, which the SweatSox always seem to be short of, like last night when we lost another one run game to the Outlaws.

THE STAT PROGRAM CRASHED WHEN I ENTERED E-8

Facing the two time defending champions for the second of four times over a three-week span, the SweatSox sent Josh Ramage to the hill. Ramage was lights out in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th innings, but ran into some problems in the 3rd and 5th after some ill-timed SweatSox errors and timely Outlaw hitting. Although he picked up the loss, Josh guaranteed a win the next time he pitched, and only time will tell if his guarantees are as surefire as mine.

RUBBING OMS JUICE ALL OVER MY…

Sylvain Viau had his longest pitching outing yet for the SweatSox, throwing the final 9 outs giving up 0 runs, 1 hit, 3 walks, with 1 strikeout, and giving the Sox every chance to come back and tie/win. Combine that with his 2/4 2RBI day at the plate, and Sylvain earns his first ever 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP award. Despite a shaky day at SS, we’ve also awarded Rafael Castillo a share of the A&W after going 3/3 (RBI, BB, SB, R), and for somehow getting himself in scoring position in the bottom of the 7th inning.

OUR HOTDOGS ARE NOT FOR SALE, AND ARE NOT FROM THE DOLLAR STORE

Honourable mentions go out to Cory Bond who went 2/2 (RBI) with a nice diving catch in LF and a brilliant INFIELD IN call from the bench, Craig Cornell who went 0/3 with a F*CK, and Ross Hughes who selfishly flew out to center when he was only one strike away from the coveted Golden Sombrero.

BEER COMES IN BOTTLES?

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was hosted by Ross Hughes, whose mission to quit drinking lasted less than a week. The circle had many guest appearances throughout the night including but not limited to: a bomb sniffing dog (if another dogs ass is considered a bomb), committee members from the Relay for Life taking place on Minto Field, a dude with a funky hat and bushy beard, an old college classmate of our GLE, Tubby the apron dude, and an Outlaw. The Outlaws rectangle was equally as eventful, as they had guest appearances from a two-hour late pizza delivery guy, the police, firefighters, ambulance workers, and the portapotty cleaners (with associated smell).

THE MY LITTLE PONY PETSHOP TOY

The Hyjinx is no stranger to background music, but this time the tunes were coming from the football field. We heard lots of remixed 80’s music, an auto-tuned goat, the karaoke legend Damian, and what 24 hour walk would be complete without playing some NKOTBSB. Little known fact about New Kids on the Block: only Joey can hit the high notes.

THE JUICE WAS PUSHED TO THE MIDDLE

The Highlight of the Hyjinx came when there was only one sausage left on the BBQ, and for the first time in SweatSox history, a sausage was shared between three guys: Kent Johnston came in for a bite on one side, Marc Lett took a bite from the other side, and finally Denver Hunt came in and swallowed the rest. Although it was a bit strange, we were shocked that Denver didn’t call Kent and Marc off and take it himself.

PANTS ARE OPTIONAL

Finally, a big shoutout to the following SweatSox who at one point or another during the night completed a full lap for the Relay For Life: Denver Hunt, David Nelson, Josh Ramage, Cory Bond, and I, Shaun Keay. The rest of the SweatSox should be ashamed of themselves.

DON’T LEAVE YOUR PHONE BEHIND

Next up for the SweatSox is, surprise-surprise, another matchup with the Outlaws tomorrow at Faulkner. Cory gets the call for the Sox, and the Outlaws will be drawing straws every inning to see who gets to pitch next.

#WONTHEHYJINX

It’s been nearly 24 hours since we choked away a one run lead in the bottom of the seventh against the Gryphons, and I’m still finding it difficult to fully shake off. Maybe it’s because I was right in the middle of a few controversial plays, I’m not too sure. Right now I’m sitting in my study located deep inside my expensive Kanata home, looking around at all the memorabilia I’ve collected over the years: my 2001 Doug Dorion Memorial Trophy, my Webmaster of the Year awards, my softball participation ribbons, my high school cheerleading medals, my autographed Doug Dorion baseball, and of course the 114 pound marlin mounted on my wall. Right now, those things mean nothing to me – I’d trade them all for a SweatSox win. You might be asking why I’d trade a lifetime of memories for another win here in 2011, and the answer is simple: I care too much.

CALLING IN SICK, OWIEE?

I’m so dedicated to the SweatSox that I don’t even need to reply to Cory’s messages about whether or not I’ll be at the next game, he knows I’ll be there – he might sit me all game, but he knows I’ll be there. It’s a shame all 12 other full timers aren’t as committed as me, otherwise The Authority probably wouldn’t have had to call like 10 people two hours before our game to make sure we had enough. Shoutout to the following people who were so close to playing with us yesterday but were otherwise occupied, out of the country, hungover, golfing, away from phone, working, or afraid:

(in alphabetical order)

A secondary shoutout goes to Denver Hunt who woke up early to help make some of these calls. The big winner of the Sunday morning call-up game though was Phil Johnson, who fortunately arrived just before gametime allowing Kent Johnston to sit and rest his…arm.

HERO VS SUPERSTAR

For the third game in a row the first three SweatSox batters of the game would come around to score, well actually it was only two of three this time; it would have been all three if not for a leadoff strikeout from Craig Cornell, who despite what the Mudd might tell you, was indeed playing in his first game since injuring his knee on opening day. The Gryphons would of course strike back with unearned runs in the first and third innings to tie the game up at two. Starting the game on the mound for the SweatSox was the GLE, who pitched 3 innings of 2 hit, 5 strikeout ball before being forced out of the game with a back injury (what a baby). With Ross Hughes now leading the charge on the mound, the score would remain tied until the 7th inning when Armando Navarro would score off a Phil Hughes RBI single, giving the Sox a one run lead heading into the bottom of the inning…and we all know what happened next. Gryphons 4, SweatSox 3.

THE Pt IN PtOF DOES NOT STAND FOR PART TIME

On the strength of his clutch hitting, his blazing speed, and him having nothing better to do on a Sunday morning, PtOF Johnson wins his first ever 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award. Honourable mention goes out to Kent Johnston who had a near perfect scorebook if not for omitting Ross’s pitching line.

PASSING ON THE CONDIMENTS

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was hosted by the King of Kings, better known as I, Shaun Keay. I chose to stay inside the box and stick with cans, added to the leftover beers from last time. Leftover beer? If Bill Freeman was dead, he’d be turning in his grave right about now. Those who stuck around to form the rare Hyjinx rectangle were having a fascinating discussion about the weather, and how misleading the little pictures can be. If there is only a 40% chance of rain/thunder-showers, why does Craig’s “sister-in-law?” have to put a couple lightning bolts and FOUR drops of rain in the preview – at least wait until it’s 50%!

I DIDN’T TALK TO HIM, BUT I SAW HIM AT THE BANQUET LAST YEAR

As the weak scrambled home to watch the final round of the PGA’s Memorial Tournament, Josh, Cory, and I stuck around to watch what would turn out to be a thrilling “1-0” Tier I game. We were shocked to see a couple FatCats playing in the game, whereas our FatCat Travis Murdock opted to skip his NCBL game in favour of being the bullpen catcher against the Brantford Red Sox. Priorities my man.

ROSS BETTER BRING 24, CAUSE THERE IS NO BEER THIS TIME

Next up for the SweatSox is a home & home series with the Outlaws on Friday and Sunday. It’s at this point I usually throw out a prediction of who I believe will start, but the way things have been going there’s really no point. See you Friday, well some of you anyways…

#WONTHEHYJINX

Moments ago, as I walked through the front doors of my expensive Kanata home, I gently placed my baseball bag down onto my polar bear rug, stared at my bookshelf containing many leather-bound books, and took a whiff of the rich mahogany smell consuming my residence. As my housekeeper Lupe walked by to greet me, I asked her to make an emergency call to my Swedish masseuse Helga so she could rub me down me out after a painful HBP came my way in the 5th inning earlier tonight.

BROKEN LEFT SACK

It all started about 7 hours ago as the SweatSox slowly made their way to the Sportsplex to face the Braves for the second time this week. With most of the pitching staff injured, sore, or missing, the team once again made an emergency call to OMG John Groves to come and start, and to make sure we scored a few runs we flipped through the rolodex and called up the OMS Mark Dorrington to round out the order.

“THIS IS MY TEAM NOW…DON’T TELL HIM THAT”

The brilliant decision by our manager to call up the OMS paid off in the top of the first when Mark hit one up into a north-south wind tunnel, nearly taking one deep. While he may have narrowly missed a first-at-bat-jack, the hit was good enough to cash in Kent Johnston, who led off the game with a hard hit single. For the second game in a row the SweatSox would score their first three batters of the game, this time highlighted by a two run single by David Nelson after a textbook sacrifice bunt from Cory Bond to set it up. In typical SweatSox fashion though, we’d give back all three runs in the bottom of the inning.

WHY DO I, SHAUN KEAY, WALK AROUND THE UMP WHEN I WALK/GET HIT?

The second inning saw the Sox put up two more runs after a Bond two run single, this time set up by a Dorrington “sacrifice bunt”?!?!?! The Braves would go on to answer in the bottom with a run of their own. The SweatSox took a 1-run lead into the 5th when out of nowhere we turned the clock back to 2005 and put up a rare 8 run inning, blowing the game open and ultimately securing the win. SweatSox 13, Braves 4.

8:13PM

The winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP award is the threesome of Johnny Groves, Dave Nelson, and Mark Dorrington. OMG pitched all 6 innings for the complete game victory, giving up 5 hits, & 4 walks, with 3 strikeouts and 2 earned runs. Nelson had a 3-hit 3-RBI game while committing 0 errors at 3B thanks in part to Armando Navarro. Finally, in his 2011 debut Mark was 2/4 with a walk and 3RBI en route to his 15th career A&W (FYI - he’s now half way towards surpassing the GLE for most A&W’s).

JOSH’S POWERFUL STREAM

The Après Baseball Hyjinx were hosted by Josh Ramage and Kent Johnston, who brought the beer and meat respectively; however for first time ever, Army Navarro was the honorary Mr. Hyjinx. #12 started off big when he started asking if he could borrow people’s sandals, and when everyone refused he decided to make his own, out of beer boxes – and there you have it: Mexican Sandals specially made for Hyjinx are born.

“REMEMBER THE TIME ARMY BEAT YOU AT THE HYJINX?”

Army’s creative juices kept flowing, and next he invented the granola bar hot dog sandwich, with mustard. It’s basically a granola bar and hot dog in a bun, with mustard. One might ask what Army used to wash the GBHDSwM down…a cherry coke?….nope…a juice box?…nope…a beer one-third drunk by Marc Lett who left unusually early? YES! “It tastes amazing” #12 was quoted as saying. Army then went around the circle and finished all the near empty beer cans, earning the name Navarro Rivera: The Beer Closer. Feeling a little tingly after drinking the equivalent of one full beer, and after having stayed longer than he’s ever stayed before, Army unexpectedly “became” Marc Lett. Rumor is Army will be travelling to Edmonton in the near future to try and catch some syphilis commercials. Speaking of syphilis, our old pal Chris Chapman…ERRRRRRR…JimboTron just checked in with his version of a SweatSox Spelling Bee. Click Here to listen.

SHOUTOUT TO THE TIER IV CHICKEN MAN

Next up for the SweatSox is a matchup versus the Gryphons Sunday afternoon at Kinsmen, which just happens to be 5 minutes away from my expensive Kanata home. Everyone except for Travis (who is partying at a cottage with only $15) is scheduled to be there. Sylvain Viau is not scheduled to start, he WILL make his first start of the season on the mound.

#WONTHEHYJINX

Here I am in the backyard of my expensive Kanata home, soaking in my Jacuzzi hot tub shortly after getting home from our first of three games in four days, and it occurs to me that I may have forgotten to set my alarm before I left for the game, potentially leaving my valuable van Gogh painting collection susceptible to theft. Whoops, never mind, my housekeeper Lupe just walked by and said everything inside Chateau Keay is fine. Feeling much more relaxed now, I think I’ll finish this bottle of pinot noir and reflect about the game I could have tied.

CB AT 3B?

Facing the two time defending Tier II champion Outlaws for the first of four times over the next three weeks got off to a rough start when we could barely scrape together 9 guys for the opening pitch. Things were so hectic an injured Josh Ramage was forced to play and started at first base, our left-handed captain started on the hot corner, and David Nelson was the last man to call “not-it” and had to make his NCBL catching debut. Here we go.

THE MERCHANDISE GETS THE CALL

The SweatSox jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first after Kent Johnston, Denver Hunt, and Sylvain Viau scored on back-to-back-to-back RBI’s from Sylvain Viau, Cory Bond, and David Nelson. The Sox would score again in the 3rd on a HRK sacrifice fly, but unfortunately by this time the Outlaws put up 6 runs of their own, leading the way to a 6-4 Outlaw victory.

I CAN’T BELIEVE I MET DIEGO!!!

For the first time this season, the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP is split between two deserving players: Cory Bond and Rafael Castillo. At the plate Cory recorded 2 of the 4 SweatSox RBI’s, defensively he committed 0 errors at third, first, & right, and finally on the mound he pitched 2.67 innings of 1-hit ball with 3 “wind-assited” strikeouts and 0 runs allowed. Rafael Castillo made his impact at the plate, going 2/2 with 2 doubles, one of which came after taking over for Ramage mid-at-bat after Josh re-injured his knee. Honourable mention goes to Sylvain Viau who recorded his first two hits of the season at the plate, and finally made his pitching debut, throwing a scoreless 6th inning that included two strikeouts. Sylvain will miss tonight’s game vs the Braves, but will “definitely” start on Sunday against the Gryphons.

CORY’S IS BIGGER THAN DENVER’S

The Après Baseball Hyjinx was a unique one, as the SweatSox had to earn the right to eat the meat by participating in a teambuilding activity. Since the OML didn’t leave us with the official SweatSox BBQ, the task was to build a brand new mini-barbeque. Leading the way was a showstopper, an engineer, and a real estate agent. Using only 55 of the 69 provided pieces, the dynamic trio “completed” the task and then there was fire.

I GUARANTEE WE’VE NEVER HAD THAT UMP

Once everyone was finished with Denver’s meat the circle started to dwindle until we were left with a final four of Cory, Josh, Rookie Sylvain Viau, and I, Shaun Keay. With a cooler still plenty full of beer, we took in the rest of the Tier I game between the Panthers and Cardinals, highlighted by a liner back to the mound, striking the pitcher on either the hand, chest, face, two of those three, or possibly all three. Cory would have caught it; in fact, I bet he does next time he pitches.

DRINKING WITH THE METCALFE UMP

When the Tier I game ended, we still had a few beers to go so we stuck around and were treated to an impromptu lacrosse scrimmage in left field. With a bit of help from a man in blue, the beer was gone and we were able to call it a night.

SPIRIT WALKS IN LEFT FIELD; THEY DIDN’T WORK

Next up for the SweatSox is a rematch with the Braves tonight at the Sportsplex. I have every reason to believe that Josh Ramage will be starting this game. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to hit the sac. Hopefully Lupe didn’t tuck.

#WONTHEHYJINX

So I woke up yesterday morning in my expensive Kanata home, wondering if our 1:00PM Faulkner game against the Braves would be played or not. As I stared out my window drinking my morning coffee, I could see that it had rained overnight, and there was precipitation in the forecast ending at about the same time our game was to start. Now I’m not a fan of playing in the rain, but I wasn’t going to be able to raise my .500 batting average by staying at home, sitting in my chair, reading the Sunday edition of the New York Times. Fortunately, the game cancelling text from The Authority never came, so off to Faulkner I went.

REVERSING THE CURSE

The SweatSox headed into yesterday’s game with an 0-3 record, the worst record to start a season since 2001 when we started the season 0-6, and finished 1-15-2. Needing a win to get things back on track, the SweatSox sent to the mound the only pitcher who had time to warm up before the game, Josh Ramage. Ramage was making his return to the field after having been sidelined since opening day with a leg (then tummy) injury.

THE FUTURE EMPEROR OF TIER II

Side Note: As some of you may know, I’ve decided (with approval from our way too nice manager Cory) to withhold posting stats until Cory gets ALL team fees from EVERYONE. With that said, in an effort to prevent someone from piecing our stats together from the blurbs I write, I’m going to have to refrain from posting exact numbers. Instead, you’ll get a number range that you’ll have to try and decode yourself. You’ll see.

STATGATE

So Josh ended up pitching somewhere between 3 and 6 innings before turning the ball over to call-up John Groves, who was making his 2011 debut while wearing the sickest belt buckle you’ve ever seen. Ramage threw somewhere between average and great over the course of his outing, giving up at least one run, a combined total of between 6-10 walks & hits, with under five strikeouts. OMG threw between 2 and 5 innings, also gave up at least one run, a combined walk & hit total of somewhere between 2-8, and again like Josh had less than five strikeouts. On offense the SweatSox put up 7 runs on somewhere between 7 and 15 hits. Kent Johnston himself scored over 50% of the runs, while 5 players combined for the 7-15 hits. The SweatSox also found some speed on the base paths, recording a franchise best in combined stolen bases (hint: to find out what that number is, look through all the old game sheets, find the game with the most stolen bases, then add at least one). Is this annoying yet? PAY YOUR FEES FOOLS.

IT’S MY OWNER

When it was all said and done, the SweatSox earned their first win of the season, beating the Braves 7-3. Ramage picked up the win, while Groves recorded the save. Almost as important, Cory “GLE” Bond and Ross “The Merchandise” Hughes didn’t have to throw and are able to rest for a big three game stretch later this week.

“NICE THROW SUPERSTAR”

Picking up his 2nd 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP of the year is Kent Johnston, who went 3/4 with an RBI, 4 runs scored, 4 stolen bases, a bigtime fist-pump “YES” catch per Josh Ramage, and the game ending catch. KJ also did some excellent work on the field before the game, helping to get it ready after all the rain. In fact, shoutout to everyone on both teams who helped work on the field for the 25 minutes Stu gave us.

Back to KJ; with all the different names he’s been given, it can be difficult sometimes to remember what they all mean, so I give to you the SweatSox Department of Homeland Security’s Different Shades of KJ Chart:

The Director of Green’s Tip of the Week: While it is okay to leave your name and number on a 20 year old cooler, it is not okay to leave that kind of information on your green recycling bins.

WE KNOW THERE IS ICE IN THE LAB

After a big win, especially the first of the season, it’s always great to sit comfortably in a lawn chair, or on a rock, and enjoy a nice cold pop (literally if you ask Army Navarro). Unfortunately, veteran Marc Lett made a rookie mistake and declared a Code: Baby Blue, sending shockwaves throughout the circle. Old Man Lett must be losing his memory because everyone knows you can buy ice at the beer store; and although it may be overpriced, sources say GZAUN will be making a “ridiculous amount” of “quadruple pay” this week. Ice was definitely in the budget. Grissom could also have opted to bring some sort of homemade flash freezing contraption to the ballpark to get the beers cold that way. I’m sure he has some liquid nitrogen laying around at home, or at least a mix of dry ice and ethanol. Well, at least he left the BBQ for Thursday’s game he’ll be missing…

TWITTER.COM/DOREENSCUPCAKES

We were about an hour and a half into the Après Baseball Hyjinx when out of nowhere we received a congratulatory @tweet from the co-owner/cupcake-artist of Vanilla Gourmet Cupcakes, Mrs. Army! It was then decided amongst those remaining in the circle that if all league fees are paid by July 11, we’ll order a batch of cupcakes for the Heritage Hyjinx the following night. We wouldn’t even need to worry about Army forgetting to bring them, or having them sit in Army’s car for the game because the slogan for Vanilla Gourmet Cupcakes is: “We deliver to you!” So SweatSox, pay your fees and we’ll have stats on the website, and beer & cupcakes at Heritage. FYI – the Heritage game is now at 8:30PM (Code: Blanka).

SUV RUNS STOP SIGN, KILLS FAMILY OF 4

After all the talk about cupcakes, a 0:12 bun to dog ratio, no BBQ, and winning the Hyjinx over a notoriously tough Braves squad, it was time to relocate the circle down the street to the Greenbank Boston Pizza. The first observation upon arrival was that the waitresses were wearing referee costumes. Perhaps former SweatSox Webmistress Shannon Rankin can tell us when that started happening? Or maybe they always did and we just didn’t remember. I guess beer does that to you.

SWEATSOX VS TEAM PITCHER, ROUND 14

OML couldn’t successfully make the pour at BP on opening day, but Travis Murdock thought he could outdo the SweatSox vet. Here’s the video:

THAT’S CREEPY

With glasses mostly full of beer and/or head, the food began to arrive. Travis ordered the Bandera Pizza Bread, which had an actual retail price of $7.29, ate it, then left to go to a hockey game. Fortunately, Murdock was quoted as saying “I don’t like not paying for stuff”, then dropped $5.65 on the table. Well, at least he did pay for 78% of it, not including tax & tip. I guess he did the calculations and figured Kent would pay for the other 22% since he took a piece of it.

As one of the longest Hyjinx’ in team history came to an end, BP waitress Shawna (what a great name BTW) offered Kent some great advice after she overheard him pondering whether or not he would shower when he got home: [Editor's note: unfortunately the comment cannot be put in print, but this can and will be discussed during the next Hyjinx].

THERE WERE NO “HAIRS” IN THAT PHILY CHEESESTEAK

Next up for the SweatSox is the first of four matchups over a 22-day period against the two-time defending champions who are still hanging around in Tier II for some reason: The Outlaws. The game is scheduled for Thursday, 6:15PM, at Faulkner. Army is on beer, DHunt is bringing the meat, Cory is bringing a BBQ, and I’m going to build it.

The first ever matchup between the SweatSox and Expos has been postponed due to the rain. Don't worry though, these two teams will meet up again on Tuesday, June 28th. Next up for the SweatSox is a date with the Braves Sunday afternoon (1:00PM) at Faulkner.

The SweatSox and Mudd met up for the first time this season last night at Metcalfe’s McKendry Park. The first pitch was at exactly 8:30PM according to our scoresheet. 99 minutes later we were all in our cars headed back to the city. Long story short, the Mudd started off the game with a double, single, and 3-run homerun. The way we’ve been playing so far this season that would’ve undoubtedly been more than enough to secure the win, but just for good measure Metcalfe put up 7 more runs in the 3rd. 10-0 mercy loss for the Sox.

If there was a positive to come out of the game last night, it was the 2011 pitching debut of SS Rafael Castillo. After 16 innings of nothing but Ross & Cory on the hill, Castillo was a welcomed addition to the SweatSox rotation. Raf pitched one inning of relief, gave up two hits, no runs, and even recorded a strikeout. Raf is now your 2011 ERA leader at 0.00.

The winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP is Denver Hunt. The Shostappa had one of the three SweatSox hits, the only stolen base, and reminded everyone what not to do on a 3-0 count, especially when you’re up by almost 10 runs.

The Après Baseball Hyjinx took place at the Hunt Club Royal Oak, where the Sox finally made use of a nacho voucher. After watching the Oklahoma City Thunder choke away their final game of the 2011 NBA Playoffs, and realizing that this losing streak started once we signed Sylvain Viau, the Hyjinx ended just about as quickly as our game took. We would also like to shoutout to all our phenomenal servers last night: Barbara, Olivia, Oprah, Becky, and Sophie. We’ll be sure to get a picture next time we head there.

Next up for the SweatSox is our first ever matchup with the Expos tomorrow night at the Sportsplex. After studying recent weather conditions and climate patterns, I unfortunately have come to the conclusion that tomorrow’s game will be rained out. Trust me, you’ll see.

For the first time in nearly 4 years, the SweatSox and Gryphons faced off in NCBL action last night at McCarthy. For those who need a quick history lesson, the Gryphons won the Tier II Championship back in 2007, celebrated like it was New Years Eve 1999, then took their talents up to Tier I for a couple seasons. But they’re back now, and the story continues…

OK, let’s start with the positives from yesterday. Cory Bond made his first start of the season on the mound and after throwing the opening pitch made it official, successfully extending his own team record of consecutive games played to 50 straight. Actually we’ll just go ahead and say it’s the longest active streak in the entire NCBL. The positives continued immediately as the GLE retired the first three Gryphons in order, which included two strikeouts.

The bottom of the first also saw many positives, starting with leadoff batter Kent Johnston reaching base via error, and then stealing second a few pitchers later. This stolen base is significant because it was the 89th of his career. 89 stolen bases is a significant milestone because it puts Kent at the top of the career stolen base list, surpassing SweatSox Hall of Famer Doug Horner for the all-time lead. Although the Director is now the “fastest SweatSock ever”, he still has to keep peeking in his rear-view mirror because Armando Navarro is only 8 behind. On passing Horner and setting the all-time SB record, Johnston had this to say: “Doug Horner was the symbol of great base stealing, but today, I’m the greatest of all time. Thank you.”

Believe it or not, there were even MORE positives to come out of last night’s game. Let’s fast forward to the third inning, when I, Shaun Keay, crushed a ball to deep left field to record my team leading 42nd career double. Even more notably, a run scored on this double which meant I now had 150 career RBI’s. Cory is still 40RBI behind in 2nd, so this record is safe for a while. Shoutout to me, Shaun Keay, for being the best at so many things.

Now you might be reading this and thinking to yourself: 50 games in a row, a 1-2-3 first inning, a new all-time SB record holder, 42nd career double, and 150 career RBI’s, there’s no way there could be anything else positive for the SweatSox to take away from last night’s game. Hashtag wrong. In the top of the 4th you might think the glass was half empty when the Gryphons broke the game wide open after scoring 4 runs, but the SweatSox always look at the glass half full, you know, positively! The inning ended on a Castillo-Murdock-Me double play, which also turned out to be the 379th inning pitched of Cory’s career. 379 is a significant milestone because it puts Bond two thirds of an inning ahead of SweatSox Hall of Famer Lee Shields for the all-time lead. On setting the all-time IP record, the always humble Cory said: “I don’t ever focus on individual accomplishments, that’s for people like Kent & Shaun. We lost today, and that’s what we need to focus on.” You know, we could all learn a thing or two about humility from our fearless leader.

Reading about all the positives from last night almost makes me forget about the negatives. Almost. The Gryphons pounded us 9-3 despite making 7 errors, Army and I both got thrown out at home, Cory’s ERA is hovering near double digits, Craig & Josh still couldn’t play because of injuries, we couldn’t finish all the beer, and the bun to dog ratio was 2:1. Horrible.

The winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award is I, Shaun Keay. I had the only 2 Sox RBI’s last night, I was crushing the ball at the plate, and I made a couple nice scoops at first. This is the first A&W of the year for me, and 8th of my career. Travis still has the medal doesn’t he? Bring it back FatCat!

Stats from last nights’ game "might" be in the stats section, depending on when you read this. Our next game is scheduled for next Wednesday in Metcalfe vs Metcalfe at McKendry.

Tonight's SweatSox-Winchester game at the Stadium has been cancelled due to the weather. Next up is a matchup with the Gryphons, Wednesday night at McCarthy.

F’D UP KNEES, ARMS, AND WRISTS

The SweatSox 2011 regular season kicked off last night at the Sportsplex, facing off against the new look Athletics in the first of three matchups this year. In an unprecedented turn of events, and for the first time since taking over the team, The Authority sent someone other than himself to the mound for the opening day start. Speculation is that since there was rain in the forecast, and the GLE doesn’t pitch in the rain, he wasn't starting - He can hit in the rain though.

“PICKLE”

Nevertheless, Ross Hughes took the mound for the first time as a full-time, full-paying member of the SweatSox, looking to make a strong debut…well 4 of the first 5 Athletic batters scored; 4-0 through the top of the first. To make matters worse, in the bottom of the inning Craig Cornell suffered some sort of knee injury sliding back into second. The doctors are describing it as a possible MCL tear, while City of Ottawa employees are spreading torn ACL rumors. Either way, the Consultant has been placed on the 14 day DL. Craig is now rooting for 2+ weeks of straight rain in the Ottawa/Winchester/Metcalfe area. PS – where the hell is McKendry?

MISTER FOREPLAY

Not one to be outdone, Josh Ramage got in on the injury action in the second inning when after making contact with the ball decided to take a nap in the batters box, eventually falling victim to quite possibly the first ever 7-3 putout in baseball history. B’Josh’s injury is described as a lower body injury, and he is listed as day-to-day.

RED HELMET

Ok, so down 4-0 after 1, 5-0 after 2, 6-0 after 4, and 7-0 through 6, things weren’t looking good. While a full out comeback was probably out of the question, the Sox were hoping to try and make things interesting. After some key walks from Sylvain Viau, Armando Navarro, and myself (Shaun Keay), Kent Johnston recorded the first RBI’s of the Sox season with a 2RBI double. Denver Hunt followed that up with a SAC fly, and then Bond came a foot away from a straight away HR to CF; his double should have brought up the game tying run, but I, Shaun Keay, decided to wave the injured Cornell around third to try and score. Whoops. Athletics 7, SweatSox 4.

THE ZOMBIE EYE

Capturing the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP was our reigning Doug Dorion Memorial Trophy Winner, the Director Kent Johnston. As mentioned, KJ went 1/4 at the plate with a run scored and the rally starting 2RBI double, and in center field made 2 routine & 1 modified-on-the-positive-side catch. The A&W was the 10th of Kent’s career, putting him only 4 behind the OMS for 2nd place all-time.

YOU HAVE TO NEGOTIATE THE FACIAL

The Après Baseball Hyjinx got off to a good start when it was discovered that it was an unexpected double meat day! Then the rain started to fall, fortunately Cory reminded us earlier in the day to not only bring chairs for the Hyjinx, but umbrellas too. I brought neither. Seemed fitting that after likely making Craig’s injury worse, I had to stand up, unprotected from the rain, thinking about all the mistakes I made that day. Thankfully, Cory drank all the beer and we had to move the party over to BP.

BAG OF PEAS AND A HOT BATH FOR ME

I don’t remember much from part deux of the Hyjinx; I know we were watching Z-BO try to lead the Grizzlies to a game 7 win, I know we were pointing at the local wildlife, and I now know that while it is possible to eat wings without a nice cold beer to wash it down, it sucks. Fortunately everyone got home safely, but rumors of one SweatSock accidently leaning on the horn of his (or I suppose her) car while trying to get out of the garage, have been confirmed by neighbors.

GLE WON THE HYJINX???

Stats from this game are complete, but as usual will NOT be posted until after I record my first hit of the season. Our next game is scheduled for tomorrow against Winchester, so hopefully I can get stats posted by Monday.

#BEDTIMER

The revised NCBL Tier II schedule was released earlier today. Here is a quick breakdown of the SweatSox season:

Games on:
Sunday	6
Monday	0
Tuesday	2
Wednesday	3
Thursday	5
Friday	7
Saturday	1
Games at:
Brewer	1
Faulkner	7
Heritage	1
Kinsmen	1
McCarthy	2
McKendry	1
Sportsplex	6
Stadium	3
Winchester	2
Games at:
1:00PM	4
3:45PM	1
6:00PM	2
6:15PM	11
7:30PM	1
8:00PM	3
8:15PM	1
8:30PM	1
Games vs:
Athletics	3
Braves	3
Expos	3
Gryphons	4
Metcalfe Mudd	3
Outlaws	4
Winchester Sox	4

To download a .pdf copy of the 2011 SweatSox schedule, click here, otherwise you can click the Schedule link below to see a .html copy.

The NCBL Twitter feed has just broken news that the Tier II Outaouais Tribu have folded. The SweatSox team of reporters have not only confirmed this tidbit of information, but have also discovered the the Tribu planted a white flag somewhere in between the two rubbers at Aydelu. We're not sure what's going to happen to the Tribu roster, but if we had to guess they'll probably join up with the Gryphons.

An updated schedule will be released shortly to make-up for these now lost Tribu games.

I just got back from a family reunion picnic, and during discussions with Cousin Jon I found out that he'll be making his full time return to the NCBL this season, suiting up for the Tier IV Irish. Jon played in 76 career games for the SweatSox (.322 AVG), and pitched in 42 games with a record of 12-15 with 4 saves (7.38 ERA). Good luck with the Irish, and I'll see you at the next family picnic. xoxo.

The SweatSox offseason officially ended tonight, as the final piece of the puzzle was set in place. Joining the SweatSox for the 2011 season will be Ross Hughes (P/INF) and Sylvain Viau (P/UTIL), and coming back from missing most of the '10 season is Rafael Castillo (SS).

Leaving the SweatSox are James Martensen (relocated to BC), Ian Stewart (joining Eric on the BlackSox), and Mark Bond (cut). The SweatSox would like to wish all departing players the best in the coming season, wherever that may be.

SweatSox Career Plate Appearances
Rank		PA
1	Me	810
2	Cory Bond	577
3	Doug Horner	576
4	Craig Cornell	575
5	Marc Lett	547

SweatSox Career Runs
Rank		R
1	Doug Horner	155
2	Kent Johnston	152
3	Shaun Keay	143
4	Craig Cornell	140
5	Cory Bond	112